Recorded in the Grand Geneva Resort and Spa, the former Playboy Club, in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, I talk about the travails of “playing injured” — traveling while sick. A listener comment makes me wonder if I’m exaggerating the state of the US travel experience. We get a good suggestion on how to wrestle with charging all those electronic devices we carry, and some detailed “behind-the-scenes” explanations of how air crews are treated by the TSA. Here’s a direct link to the podcast file.
Here are the show notes from TravelCommons podcast #54:
- Intro music — Warmth by Makkina
- Recorded in Grand Geneva Resort and Spa in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
- Been on the road every week since my last podcast, mostly here in San Francisco
- Bridge Music — Hejm by The Headroom Project
- Thanks to everyone who told me that the podcast had been gone too long
- Craig Martin of the Indie Travel Podcast sends along an audio comment with a great suggestion on how to avoid the “outlet congestion” I mentioned in TC #53
- I’ve found that for most electrical devices, you don’t even need the power converter, just the plug adapter
- Received two good answers to my question in TC#53 as to why an Oakland TSA screener allowed a Southwest flight attendant to keep her shoes going through the metal detector
- This USAToday article suggests that airline and airport employees will face greater security measures as a result of the foiled JFK plot
- Bridge Music — Electric Butterfly by Falik
- All travel inconveniences pale when compared to getting sick or injured while traveling
- Two weeks ago, I injured my back the morning before a flight to San Francisco
- Worse was the experience of getting food poisoning in Lyon, France and still having to carry on with business the next day
- Bridge Music — Snake Eyes by Seismic Anomaly
- An e-mail exchange with Udayan Tripathi got me to wondering if I exaggerate the problems with US domestic travel
- The TSA isn’t the most charming group, but they’re no worse than the screeners in London’s Heathrow airport
- A USAToday article this week reported that the number of passenger complaints to US Dept of Transportation in April about bad airline service had doubled from the year before
- The service from US legacy carriers is worse than in other parts of the world, but the new US carriers (e.g., JetBlue) offer better service than legacy or budget carriers elsewhere
- Closing music — iTunes link to Pictures of You by Evangeline
- Bridge music from Magnatune
- Feedback at comments[at]travelcommons.com, the comment board on podcastalley.com, or right here in the comments section below
- Direct link to the show
6 comments on “Podcast #54 – Traveling Injured; How Bad Is Travel Experience Really?”
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Speaking about international screeners, have you run into TSA agents in European airports? I have been meaning to talk about this for a year now!
When returning from Holland last year, at Schipol Airport, we were attended by a TSA agent. Not a Dutch equivalent, but a TSA agent who along with his team lived and worked in Holland, both serving the international departures area, and helping to train the Dutch screeners in some sort of exchange program.
I didn’t even know there were TSA agents abroad! I also wish all TSA agents were as nice as this man: he helped us when we were obviously lost, helped us figure out our flight situation, boarding passes and such, and also checked our bags himself, by hand, all the time being amiable, funny and super polite. Why do we export this guy to Europe instead of keeping him to ourselves? Then again, do we want to send one of the overzealous TSA agents to represent us abroad?
Anyway, curious if you (or other listeners) have encountered TSA agents abroad.
Great show!
About a third of my travel is US domestic and about half is within Europe and I agree that European legacy carriers are better than US legacy carriers on short-haul routes.
I don’t know whether US budget airlines are better than European budget airlines as my US domestic travel tends to be one end of a connection rather than point-to-point and I think that may be one of the reasons budget airlines have an advantage.
Because their product is more limited, for instance no through ticketing with Easyjet, people are less likely to try and book a multi-hop flight and so are less likely to be disappointed when it falls to pieces.
Daniel –
Interesting observation regarding TSA agents in Holland. Outside the US, I’ve only seen TSA in Toronto, but that’s a long-standing agreement where you clear US immigrations and customs in Pearson, allowing Toronto flight to de-plane in US domestic terminals rather than international terminals. Did you still have to clear customs and immigration in the US when you landed?
Mark everyone knows that the squat rack is for doing curls not squats. squat rack curls
Pulled my back doing deadlifts early in the year, yeah it’s a pain traveling hurt.
Mark, yes, I still had to clear customs in Miami. Like I said, it was weird; he was an actual TSA agent, one of quite a few, and it was the first time I’d even heard of there being TSA agents abroad.
Hey Mark, thanks for another show. I have to say, most States-based travel podcasts don’t inspire me to travel there! (May I never meet a TSA agent!) I hope the country gets their act together since there are meant to be some beautiful places.
Oh, and thanks for playing the audio comment I sent.